Adjudication No. 587 (August 1992) [1992] APC 57

ADJUDICATION No. 587 (August 1992)

In upholding a complaint by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of the Commonwealth Department of Health, Housing and Community Services against New Idea, the Australian Press Council stressed the need for extreme care in reporting on health issues.

The opening four paragraphs of the New Idea article, "Versatile Vitamins", state:

"Arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease - even cancer. Debilitating ailments such as lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome. Simple but nevertheless annoying conditions such as colds and flu. The grim mystery of AIDS and the heartbreak of infertility

"What do all these have in common? They can be treated by the sufferer taking vitamin C.

"Now it's been established virtually beyond doubt that there is a better form of vitamin C: Ester C. It is a modern, more sophisticated form of the vitamin.

"Many Australians who have already taken Ester C would not be surprised to hear that the federal Department of Health has recognised its effectiveness by granting registration numbers for Ester C powder and tablets ... This is the first time a vitamin or mineral has been awarded such status in Australia."

The article then reports extracts from various speeches at a conference in California.

The TGA complained that the article was solely directed towards a brand named product and was designed to take undue advantage of people's concern for their health. As such, it said, the article was unethical in terms of the World Health Organisation's Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion. New Idea denies the article was designed to take undue advantage of people's concern for their health.

The TGA complains that the article suggests that the product is a treatment for numerous serious conditions and falsely implies that the Department of health recognises its effectiveness for such treatments, whereas the Department has examined data concerning the chemical composition of Ester C and has approved only the following therapeutic claim: "For the treatment and prevention of ascorbic acid deficiency".

The complaint is upheld.